5 Charity Campaign Videos To Inspire You

Video content is integral to marketing campaigns - in 2021, it was reported that online videos had an audience reach of 92% among internet users worldwide. Video content provides the opportunity to tell a story to a limitless audience, which is particularly important for nonprofits and charities who rely heavily on donations from the public - it’s one of the best ways to build an emotional connection with their audience and gain support. Video allows for storytelling, which has a unique power to create a massive lasting impact on us. When we hear a story that resonates with us, it boosts feelings of trust, compassion and empathy. Because of this, stories have the unique ability to build connections. In this way, when a charity opts for video it can combine an emotional connection with information, making it more likely that the audience will stick around to engage with the content on a deeper level.

Did you know? YouTube has over two billion users. That’s a third of the entire internet.

By communicating via video, charities can demonstrate to their audience exactly who they are, what they stand for and how people can contribute towards the cause. It’s a great way to show personality, reframe existing narratives and even reposition themselves. For instance, a charity with a serious cause might want to use video campaigns to show their more light-hearted humorous side. So, with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at some of the best charity campaign videos, (in our opinion) and what makes them so great. If you’re looking to create a charity campaign video of your own, we hope this guide is inspiring.

Wasteminster: A Downing Street Disaster - Greenpeace

Environmental charity Greenpeace wanted to put the plastic crisis into perspective for the British public. They identified that there was a disconnect between the conversation around plastic pollution and understanding the effects and scale of the problem. The UK is the 2nd largest producer of plastic waste in the world, and the government is responsible for dumping it on other countries who can’t cope with it. Greenpeace worked with Park Village animation studio to show just how much plastic we dump on other countries every day, all piled up on Boris Johnson’s doorstep. The film depicts a blabbering caricature of the then Prime Minister speaking on the issue, meanwhile an increasing amount of discarded plastic waste is raining down on him at No 10 Downing Street, eventually carrying him away in a sweeping sea of plastic. The film concludes with a view of Westminster, illustrating the full extent of the plastic mountain, and demonstrating the actual amount of plastic waste the UK dumps on other countries every single day. Wasteminster is one of our top picks as it is very cleverly made - every line in the film is an actual quote from Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, highlighting the shocking truth behind their empty words. The film also combines humour and austerity effectively - firstly taking a comedic approach, and then adopting a more sombre tone as the harsh realities of the plastic crisis settle in towards the end of the film.

Whatever It Takes - Macmillan Cancer Support

When Covid-19 hit, Macmillan suffered a huge hit to their funding, as cancer was slowly becoming the ‘forgotten C’. As many as 50,000 people in the United Kingdom missed a cancer diagnosis, because of the disruption caused by Covid-19, making Macmillan’s services more vital than ever. With 98% of the charity's funding coming from donations, Macmillan used the campaign as an opportunity to showcase how vital their services are and raise funds. Whatever it Takes is rooted in the truth that Macmillan staff quite literally do whatever it takes to support those who face the daily challenges and triumphs of living with cancer. The campaign brings to life the unique spirit of Macmillan support staff by showcasing not just what Macmillan do, but how they do it - including the kindness and compassion that accompanies the grit and determination needed to help their patients. This campaign has made it to one of our top spots because it depicts the raw truth of living with cancer. For those who are removed from the experience, the campaign effectively drops the viewer into the life of a Macmillan nurse and provides insight into the turbulent and tricky processes that they deal with on a daily basis. It's a real cinematic experience that pulls on your heartstrings and engages consumers’ subconscious to create an emotional connection with the charity and the story.

Uprooted - UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency

At a time when the global displacement crisis had reached 100 million people worldwide, Don’t Panic collaborated with UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency and Stink Films to send a message of support to all refugees around the world, with a film featuring and made with Ukrainian refugees. Uprooted shows how the terrifying memories of conflict live on in those who have escaped. The action closes with a dramatic scene in an empty Berlin square, where refugees form the shape of a tree firmly rooted to the earth by the embrace of dozens of people. “To survive the memories of war, refugees need the support and embrace of us all,” the closing title reads. All of the actors that appear in the film are refugees from Ukraine and in total, over 50 refugees from Ukraine were involved in the project. Adding to the authenticity and the actors’ connection to the film, each wore an item of clothing they were wearing when they fled their country. The hero film is accompanied by a further trilogy of films where we meet the Ukrainian refugee cast and crew, shedding light on their first hand experiences of the trauma of war and the constant reliving of devastating memories of it. We don’t want to blow our own trumpet so we’ll let the results do the talking! The film received over 9 million views and won X awards including a Gold at the Lovie Awards and four LIA awards.

The Real Self-Checkout - Asda, Breast Cancer Now and CoppaFeel!

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Asda collaborated with Breast Cancer Now and CoppaFeel! to encourage shoppers to make checking their boobs, pecs and chests as normal as their weekly shop. The awareness campaign, The Real Self-Checkout, highlights that regularly checking your chest and making yourself aware of the signs of breast cancer, can help save your life. Charity and brand partnerships are a really powerful way of harnessing a large audience - particularly with Asda, who hold significant cultural influence and have the power to create real behaviour changes. Charities have a lot of knowledge and information but often don’t have huge budgets to spread their message far and wide, which is where partnerships can help, as brands often have wider, more diverse audiences and more budget to play with. We really like how The Real Self-Checkout uses humour to talk about a serious and often taboo topic - it’s a breath of fresh air to see content that entertains, and laughter is a powerful way to build a connection.

Brave Face - Shelter

This year, we worked with homelessness charity, Shelter, for the second year running on their Christmas campaign. We were tackled with exposing the reality of the UK’s 119,500 children who will wake up on Christmas Day in temporary accommodation. We decided to tell the story through a child’s perspective to bring to life the realities of homelessness. The film opens on eight-year-old Jayden as he faces a number of daily challenges, like getting a low score on his test - in each instance Jayden responds by smiling. As the film goes on the charming narrative begins to unravel when we see Jayden and his mum move into a tiny flat where they’ll be spending Christmas. The appeal closes with the line “No child should have to put on a brave face but without a home, over 119,500 children do.” With many families being hit hard by the cost of living crisis, the UK is experiencing a housing emergency, pushing more people to homlessness. Life in temporary accommodation is volatile and unstable, often disrupting children’s lives and education. The film effectively depicts the resilience of parents, teenagers and young children in this position. Since launching this November, Brave Face has already received The Drum’s Ad of the Day and a number of news features

To Conclude

Video campaigns are a really powerful tool for charities to increase support, raise awareness and fundraise, but it’s important to harness that power effectively. Here at Don’t Panic, we always recommend flipping the traditional ‘think-feel-do’ model so that content creates an emotional reaction, whether that be humour, a sense of injustice, shock and so on. We believe that you need to encourage people to feel something before you can get them to think about your charity, donate, or take action. That said, an effective charity campaign doesn’t have to end in full-on sobbing. That’s why we always suggest looking for ways to reframe well-trodden narratives to generate new supporters and engagement. This could mean tapping into cultural themes, elevating the ‘new news’ in an issue, exploring unexpected formats, or finding the comedy gold where others wouldn’t think to look.

Talk to us about your next charity video campaign

We can help you create the next best charity video campaign with our non-profit and charity advertising services (it’s sort of our thing). As the originals of social purpose, we have extensive experience of working with a wide scope of charities, causes and non-profit organisations. If you’d like to talk to us about your next campaign, get in touch with us at newbusiness@dontpaniclondon.com.